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Londolozi Live

Membership overview

We invite you to sign up for a Londolozi Live account and join our growing digital family united by our respect for nature and love of the wild. Membership is free and grants access to the Londolozi community, numerous innovative services and benefits across our digital ecosystem:

Quick sign in/sign up

Tired of new passwords? Link your social media account of choice for instant, secure access to Londolozi Live.

Who are you?

Tell the community something about yourself and tweak your Londolozi profile. More of a secretive animal? Keep your profile private.

Track your activity

Earn badges for your profile as you interact with Londolozi and the community as you comment, share and explore our online ecosystem. All your activity with Londolozi is now connected.

Increase your ranking

Earn prowess and rank up as you interact with Londolozi Live and earn a spot on the monthly points leaderboard.

Discuss stories

Chat with other Londolozi Live Explorers and with your favourite Contributors from the Londolozi team about their photos and stories from the wild.

Home of leopards

Tell us which of the Leopards of Londolozi you've encountered during your visit! Their cards will move to your profile page collection.

Rent gear

Need a camera for your stay? Book it online and hassle free. Travel to Londolozi light and easy.

Londolozi Live q

A Prickly Dance: Lions and Porcupine

As a guide I have a bucket list of various sightings that I dream of seeing. The more time I spend in the bush, the more amazing things I have seen over the years, the more outrageous my bucket list seems to become.

A few nights ago, I managed to tick one major sighting off my bucket list that I have been hoping, dreaming and imagining for many years. We were lucky enough to spend the afternoon with the Mhangeni pride and the four coalition males. The lions were restful for most of the afternoon until it darkened into evening and began to cool. The pride soon became active and started to move with the four male lions in tow. Suddenly we saw the group clump together and it looked like they were surrounding something of interest.

My imagination started to race, trying to figure out what they had found… To my surprise it was a rather unfortunate porcupine surrounded by 13 lion and four male lions. This is not an ideal place to be, especially if you feature on the menu of a lion!

The Mhangeni pride and the four coalition males take an interest in an unfortunate porcupine.

The porcupine defends itself using its quills to ward off the curious lions

The porcupine backs into an approaching lion – the quills make a distracting noise

All was not lost however and the porcupine began to shake its tail (known as a rattle) – the sound of the quills makes a distracting noise. The porcupine began to run backwards into any lion that would come too close for comfort, a common defense mechanism for a threatened porcupine. If the porcupine manages to get close enough to a predator, it does not shoot its quills as many people may think. Rather the quills have micro-barbs, which hook into the face or paws of a predator that may get too close. The quills simply pull out of the porcupines skin without causing damage to the prickly creature. The predator then has to deal with a painful quill. The downside of this is that there is a chance of the quill breaking off in the skin and this can cause a major infection. The porcupine simply re-grows any lost quills – the quills are a type of fused hair.

If the porcupine manages to get close enough to a predator, it does not shoot its quills as many people may think. Rather the quills have micro-barbs, which hook into the face or paws of a predator that may get too close

Watch this footage captured below of the prickly encounter!

The porcupine manages to escape and live to see another day

This very lucky porcupine managed to survive. The lionesses of the Mhangeni pride lost interest and began to move off. The cubs soon lost their bravery and backed off, leaving the porcupine to disappear into the night and live to see another day.

Badges

Badges are awarded for achieving various things and come with a bunch of points in tow. Here's an example badge:

We've had the pleasure of hosting you here at Londolozi and together we've experienced the magic of the wild and now you're part of the family. You've let us know about your past visits while editing your Profile.

Londolozi Guest

Awarded for visiting Londolozi.

1000

prowess earned

for earning the Londolozi Guest badge

Each badge has a basic version, such as the Londolozi Guest badge above, and then a specialist version:

Londolozi Lifer

Awarded for visiting Londolozi three times.

2000

prowess earned

for earning the Londolozi Lifer badge

To see all the badges on offer and find out how to grab them, visit the Badge Showcase or click on any badge you happen to find out there in the wild.

Senior Digital Ranger

Digital Tracker

Master Tracker

Guest

We've had the pleasure of hosting you here at Londolozi and together we've experienced the magic of the wild and now you're part of the family. You've let us know about your past visits while editing your Profile.

You've earned the badge:

Londolozi Guest

Awarded for visiting Londolozi.

1000

prowess earned

for earning the Londolozi Guest badge

You're a specialist in this field and have earned the badge:

Londolozi Lifer

Leopard

On a trip to Londolozi you've been lucky enough to spot a leopard of Londolozi. You've encountered the leopard's profile card on the Blog and pressed the 'Spotted this Leopard?' button to record your sighting.

Lion Fanatic

Photographer

You've got an eye for the wilderness and have had your photographic journal from your time at Londolozi published on the Blog for others to enjoy. You found out how to submit your story by emailing us.

You've earned the badge:

Photographer

Awarded for submitting a photo story.

700

prowess earned

for earning the Photographer badge

You're a specialist in this field and have earned the badge:

Master Photographer

Storyteller

You've got the gift of the storyteller and have had a tale of your time at Londolozi published on the Blog for others to marvel at around the camp fire. You found out how to submit your story by emailing us.

Art Specialist

Good Work Foundation

You recongise the rare privilege it is to be able to experience the untamed beauty of the natural world, and have found an opportunity to give back through The Good Work Foundation, for the sake of others, your children and the wild. You've let us know about your donations while editing your Profile.

Londolozi Live

Membership Overview

Londolozi Live

Membership overview

We invite you to sign up for a Londolozi Live account and join our growing digital family united by our respect for nature and love of the wild. Membership is free and grants access to the Londolozi community, numerous innovative services and benefits across our digital ecosystem:

Quick sign in/sign up

Tired of new passwords? Link your social media account of choice for instant, secure access to Londolozi Live.

Who are you?

Tell the community something about yourself and tweak your Londolozi profile. More of a secretive animal? Keep your profile private.

Track your activity

Earn badges for your profile as you interact with Londolozi and the community as you comment, share and explore our online ecosystem. All your activity with Londolozi is now connected.

Increase your ranking

Earn prowess and rank up as you interact with Londolozi Live and earn a spot on the monthly points leaderboard.

Discuss stories

Chat with other Londolozi Live Explorers and with your favourite Contributors from the Londolozi team about their photos and stories from the wild.

Home of leopards

Tell us which of the Leopards of Londolozi you've encountered during your visit! Their cards will move to your profile page collection.

Rent gear

Need a camera for your stay? Book it online and hassle free. Travel to Londolozi light and easy.

sightings by Members

The Leopards of Londolozi

Since 1979 Londolozi has had a love affair with leopards. Over the last four decades, this dynasty has been chronicled by the many guides and trackers, past and present, who have worked at Londolozi.

You can visit the Mashaba 4:3 Female's dedicated profile page to access a rich trove of information about this leopard, including family tree, unique markings, territory maps, timelines and a host of stunning images and videos.